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[East] Cookie Brigade EAST 2012 - Bake Cookies, help Child's Play!

Posts

I havent yet been accepted as a brigadeer, but am excited. Ive been looking at recipes and am hopeful to make some! Do brigadeers donate all the money they buy materials with, or do they take a few dollars to compensate for the cost?

(DISCLAIMER: I am not a member of the cookie brigade, but I'm pretty darn sure what I'm saying here is correct)

ALL monies brought in are given directly to child's play. By signing up, you are donating your time and baked goods (and by proxy whatever materials it took to make said baked goods).

Keep in mind you won't be selling baked goods for child's play. You will be offering baked goods for free in hopes that someone might donate to child's play because of the awesomeness.

Yep, you nailed it! Just keep that in mind when you go to bake 100 cookies. ;) (Damn Nutella for being so expensive!!!!)

What I did is I baked and distributed last year, but I also put out a plea on Facebook a few months before, asking for anyone interested to bake cookies and drop them off to me the Thursday before PAX. I had so many people bake for me, it was awesome! I had so many I couldn't distribute them myself.

What I did is I baked and distributed last year, but I also put out a plea on Facebook a few months before, asking for anyone interested to bake cookies and drop them off to me the Thursday before PAX. I had so many people bake for me, it was awesome! I had so many I couldn't distribute them myself.

That's a great idea. I will absolutely recruit friends to help! Great! Anyone have any idea why I haven't been accepted to the cookie brigade website?

What I did is I baked and distributed last year, but I also put out a plea on Facebook a few months before, asking for anyone interested to bake cookies and drop them off to me the Thursday before PAX. I had so many people bake for me, it was awesome! I had so many I couldn't distribute them myself.

That's a great idea. I will absolutely recruit friends to help! Great! Anyone have any idea why I haven't been accepted to the cookie brigade website?

You may not have been accepted yet because VT is very very busy. It takes some time to go through apps I think.

Aye, as of now the new user registration should (finally!) be up to date! If you created an account, you should have a message in your Penny Arcade inbox waiting for you right now asking you for more information! Please reply to it, and we'll get you going as soon as we can!

Cookie Brigade is hands down the best group of people at PAX. Drop $1 for a cookie? Drop $5 for a cookie! Feed hungry gamers in line and help sick children across the globe. God speed you beautiful people.

"Edamame?! You know, Soy BEANS?! Well if you dont have it why is it ON THE BOARD?! TAKE IT OFF THE BOARD!!" -Edamame Enforcer

I'm new to the Penny Arcade forums, but not to Penny Arcade, and I wanted to sign up to be on the Brigade for PAX East this year! I'm just worried that I'll be screened out for appearing out of the ether and being too new. I promise I'm not a creep! Just a fan that has a genuine fear of forums.

I'm new to the Penny Arcade forums, but not to Penny Arcade, and I wanted to sign up to be on the Brigade for PAX East this year! I'm just worried that I'll be screened out for appearing out of the ether and being too new. I promise I'm not a creep! Just a fan that has a genuine fear of forums.

Just make sure you sign up via the cookie brigade website and you'll get your fair hearing ;)

Is there anyone in the greater Boston area who would be interested in hosting an out-of-towner for a baking party the week of PAX? I'd love to find a kitchen to bake for an afternoon! We're flying in on Tuesday evening.

LexiconGrrl on January 2012

Owner of and General Badass Chick at Seattle's only Gamer-Owned Distillery, Old Ballard Liquor Co.
Pre-PAX Game Night is the only way to fly.
If you're not part of the Cookie Brigade, you're doing it wrong.

I signed up on the one site that I could find, though I don't know where I put the link to the other site we used last year.

Anyway, I know that I am planning on making at least 6 times the recipe I found online of ricotta cookies to split into three groups of 88. The plan would be to make two batches lemon, two batches orange, and two batches vanilla. These would be the basis of my planned Portal Gel cookies. The glaze topping of each of these would coincide with one of the three Portal gels. Lemon would be the white gel (the glaze being white from the lemon juice and sugar), Orange being the propulsion gel, and Vanilla being the blue repulsion gel. The plan would be that each bag of cookies would be one of each flavor.

This sounds tedious, but I figure that the basic recipe for the cookies is the same, but I can make the whole dough, split the batches into threes, and refrigerate the dough I'm not using until I get the first ones baked.

also its a good idea to ziplock your cookies ... and put labels on what they are and what is in them for allergy sakes....
had good luck with that last year!!

Ziplocks or a solid seal of some sort, like tight plastic wrap with a sticker, are required. I know at PAX East last year we had someone drop off a tupperware container of cookies unwrapped, which we cannot give out. No one in the brigade wants to be the PAX SARSPoxEbolaDoomitis plague bearer.

But yes the cookies absolutely should be wrapped/sealed/packaged and labeled with the type of cookie and if you put ingredient we will you forever. People often ask whats in them for allergies sake so its better if we know. And then there are the mystery cookies of unknown type, makes it harder to offer them off to people, unless you get creative.

I was thinking, a standardized set of stickers for gluten free, nut free, etc might be a good idea. Have them put onto a template for a certain type of avery labels, and the bakers just need to buy label sheets and print them out. This way, it's something easily identifiable and constant across all packaging.

I was thinking, a standardized set of stickers for gluten free, nut free, etc might be a good idea. Have them put onto a template for a certain type of avery labels, and the bakers just need to buy label sheets and print them out. This way, it's something easily identifiable and constant across all packaging.

I was thinking, a standardized set of stickers for gluten free, nut free, etc might be a good idea. Have them put onto a template for a certain type of avery labels, and the bakers just need to buy label sheets and print them out. This way, it's something easily identifiable and constant across all packaging.

This is a fantastic idea.

This actually really is a good idea. Even if the bakers don't do it we generally know which ones are gluten free etc. I'll toss some designs together tonight:

Gluten Free
Nut Free
Vegetarian

But I could print out a couple sheets and bring them with me to PAX and label the ones we know are the above.

With the designs, just make sure it is VERY easy to understand which is which. I don't think anyone wants to need a key to reference the designs/stickers

How about like this:

I think those are pretty awesome. I'm not in the CB, so I'd suggest posting them on the CB forums to see how they're received there (I bet well).

Already done ^_^

But yeah I unfortunately don't think this is something could expect the bakers to do, but its definitely something we can do as we receive items, at least as best as we can manage. But if they go over well I can toss together a avery template with them and maybe something on zazzle or the like at cost for people as stickers.

One thing to consider is that most people with gluten intolerance or nut allergies are highly sensitive to even the most minute amounts of nut oils or gluten. The stickers are a bit misleading and lead you to believe that the cookies are certified to be free of these things, and since they're being made in private kitchens, they're probably not. I would actually argue for a design that makes it clearer that even though no wheat or nuts were used in the making of the cookies, they weren't made in a certified 'free' facility (unless they were, of course).

We ran into this exact issue at Prime last year (I made MANY MANY MANY cookies, and about 500 were no-wheat) and instead put "wheatless" on the labels. The difference was very well received by a number of convention goers who needed to know the difference.

Of course, "nutless" cookies might sound daunting to some of the guys, but I'm sure that some alternative phrase could be used...

LexiconGrrl on January 2012

Owner of and General Badass Chick at Seattle's only Gamer-Owned Distillery, Old Ballard Liquor Co.
Pre-PAX Game Night is the only way to fly.
If you're not part of the Cookie Brigade, you're doing it wrong.

What I did is I baked and distributed last year, but I also put out a plea on Facebook a few months before, asking for anyone interested to bake cookies and drop them off to me the Thursday before PAX. I had so many people bake for me, it was awesome! I had so many I couldn't distribute them myself.

That's a great idea. I will absolutely recruit friends to help! Great! Anyone have any idea why I haven't been accepted to the cookie brigade website?

You may not have been accepted yet because VT is very very busy. It takes some time to go through apps I think.

VT just approved three more admins for the CB site to give him a hand. We're working through the division of labor and hope to be running like a well-buttered machine shortly. Thanks for your patience!

Owner of and General Badass Chick at Seattle's only Gamer-Owned Distillery, Old Ballard Liquor Co.
Pre-PAX Game Night is the only way to fly.
If you're not part of the Cookie Brigade, you're doing it wrong.

One thing to consider is that most people with gluten intolerance or nut allergies are highly sensitive to even the most minute amounts of nut oils or gluten. The stickers are a bit misleading and lead you to believe that the cookies are certified to be free of these things, and since they're being made in private kitchens, they're probably not. I would actually argue for a design that makes it clearer that even though no wheat or nuts were used in the making of the cookies, they weren't made in a certified 'free' facility (unless they were, of course).

We ran into this exact issue at Prime last year (I made MANY MANY MANY cookies, and about 500 were no-wheat) and instead put "wheatless" on the labels. The difference was very well received by a number of convention goers who needed to know the difference.

Of course, "nutless" cookies might sound daunting to some of the guys, but I'm sure that some alternative phrase could be used...

Maybe a label for each of those as well or another label for "possible cross-contamination" and "no contamination" for further clarity?

Also there are probably other allergies and food intolerances that should be taken into account such as milk or soy.

And even though these should obviously be posted to the cookie brigade forum for general use, it could be a good idea to have them posted here too so people know what labels to be on the watch for and what they mean.

Well one thing to consider, and like LexiconGrrl said, the brigade is largely a mash up of people, many of the bakers we have no contact with except for them dropping off and many times one of the brigadiers aren't even there for the drop off. We're a fly by the seat of our pants underground group. So yes while we might have cookies that we say are "gluten free" generally speaking when I give them out its generally with a verbal caveat of "Please do not eat this if that allergy might kill you. This is like a bake sale, someone made this in their kitchen and donated it."

Most people with those allergies also understand that so in most cases unless absolutely sure they avoid it. We have had things there were absolutely gluten free and vegetarian, IE the candy I make which is just sugar, flavor oil and corn syrup. But the vast majority will has the possibility of cross contamination.

I would worry about getting too over complicated with the labels by adding caveats galore. It makes more sense I think to just advise the distributors to present the warning when people take/ask for those items that it was made in someone's home so there is no guarantee there was no cross contamination and if someone is in fact dangerously allergic they should abstain.

Milk and soy are also going to be a bit harder to discern, most of the items I imagine will have milk and potentially soy at some level, with exception of course, for the space invaders candy.

The stickers idea is something I talked to VT about last year (though the main point was more about ensuring it came from the cookie brigade and not someone doing it for personal gain). IIRC, it didn't pan out because of concerns over the time it would take to mark EVERY cookie. Yes, some brigadiers will be super helpful and mark their cookies ahead of time. But some poor shlub would get stuck sitting in the cookie pile trying to label last-minute drop offs.
Not saying it can't won't happen. Just sharing previous discussion.

Although, I do think vegan should be added (or maybe instead of vegetarian?).

Owner of and General Badass Chick at Seattle's only Gamer-Owned Distillery, Old Ballard Liquor Co.
Pre-PAX Game Night is the only way to fly.
If you're not part of the Cookie Brigade, you're doing it wrong.

Okay, just got a bunch of applications approved on the CB site. You should be seeing a message in your PA inbox if you've been waiting.

Does anyone know a forum user handled as renetty?

LexiconGrrl on January 2012

Owner of and General Badass Chick at Seattle's only Gamer-Owned Distillery, Old Ballard Liquor Co.
Pre-PAX Game Night is the only way to fly.
If you're not part of the Cookie Brigade, you're doing it wrong.

Owner of and General Badass Chick at Seattle's only Gamer-Owned Distillery, Old Ballard Liquor Co.
Pre-PAX Game Night is the only way to fly.
If you're not part of the Cookie Brigade, you're doing it wrong.